Anne Hyde was the first wife of James, Duke of York (the future King
James II of England and VII of ScotlandJames II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
), and the mother of two monarchs,
Mary II of England and ScotlandMary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
and Anne of Great Britain.
Prior to her marriage she served as a Maid of Honour to
Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of OrangeMary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France...
.
Early years
She was born on 12 March 1638 (Old Style) or 22 March 1638 (New Style), at
Cranbourne LodgeCranbourne Lodge was a keeper's lodge for the royal hunting grounds of Cranbourne Chase, once adjoining but now part of Windsor Great Park in the English county of Berkshire...
,
WindsorWindsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
in
BerkshireBerkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, to
Frances AylesburyFrances Hyde, Countess of Clarendon - , was an English peeress and the mother-in-law of James II of England and grandmother of Queen Mary II and Queen Anne....
, daughter of Sir Thomas Aylesbury, and to Sir
Edward HydeEdward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon was an English historian and statesman, and grandfather of two English monarchs, Mary II and Queen Anne.-Early life:...
(later 1st
Earl of ClarendonEarl of Clarendon is a title that has been created twice in British history, in 1661 and 1776. The title was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1661 for the statesman Edward Hyde, 1st Baron Hyde...
) of the Hyde family from
NorburyNorbury is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 190.-External links:...
in Cheshire.
In 1659, at Breda in the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, she allegedly married
JamesJames II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, then Duke of York, in a secret ceremony. The royal family at this time remained in exile following the
English Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, and Anne's father served as the loyal Royalist chief adviser to the prospective King
Charles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, James's elder brother. Anne was Maid of Honour to
Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of OrangeMary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France...
, sister of Charles and James. It was during this time that James seduced Anne while she was in his sister's service and Charles forced the reluctant James to marry Anne, saying that her strong character would be a positive influence on his weak-willed brother.
Duchess of York
The couple went through an official but private marriage ceremony on 3 September 1660, in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, following the
English RestorationThe Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
of the
monarchyA monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
. The wedding took place between eleven o'clock at night and two o'clock in the morning at Worcester House, her father's house in the
StrandStrand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
, and was solemnised by James's chaplain, Dr Joseph Crowther. Anne was not a beautiful woman; in fact,
Samuel PepysSamuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
slights her as being downright plain; however the French Ambassador described her as having "courage, cleverness, and energy almost worthy of a King's blood".
Anne and James' first child, Charles, was born less than two months after their marriage, but died in infancy, as did five further sons and daughters. Only two daughters survived:
MaryMary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
(born 30 April 1662 o.s.) and
AnneAnne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
(born 6 February 1665 o.s.). According to the
Dictionary of National BiographyThe Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
, she gave birth to
"her eighth child, a daughter, on 9 February 1671 (o.s.), but by now her fatal illness, probably breast cancerBreast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, was in an advanced stage". On 10 April 1671 (31 March o.s.), about seven weeks after the birth of their youngest child, Anne died, aged 33, at
St. James's PalaceSt. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it has remained the official residence of the Sovereign and the most senior royal palace in the UK...
and was buried in
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
on 15 April 1671 (5 April o.s.).
Catholicism
Late in her life, the Duchess of York secretly converted to Catholicism, much to the horror of her staunchly
AnglicanAnglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
family. After her death, sometime about 1672, her widower also converted to the Roman Catholic faith. At the order of James's older brother King Charles, however, James's and Anne's daughters received a
ProtestantProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
education.
King James was overthrown in a
revolutionThe Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
against his Catholic rule in 1688, and Anne Hyde's daughter Mary and her son-in-law,
William of OrangeWilliam III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, jointly assumed the throne. After James, no British King or Queen has affirmed belief in the Catholic faith.
After Anne Hyde, no other English woman would marry an
heir presumptiveAn heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
or
heir apparentAn heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the British throne until the marriage of
Lady Diana SpencerDiana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
to
Charles, Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
in 1981.
Issue
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
| Charles, Duke of Cambridge |
22 October 1660 |
5 May 1661 |
Born two months after his parents' legal marriage, died aged seven months of smallpoxSmallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
. |
Mary II, Queen of England, Scotland and IrelandMary II was joint Sovereign of England, Scotland, and Ireland with her husband and first cousin, William III and II, from 1689 until her death. William and Mary, both Protestants, became king and queen regnant, respectively, following the Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of...
|
30 April 1662 |
28 December 1694 |
Married her cousin William III, Prince of OrangeWilliam III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
in 1677. She and her husband ascended to the throne in 1689 after the deposition of her father. No surviving issue. |
| James, Duke of Cambridge James, Duke of Cambridge KG was the second son of James, Duke of York and his first wife Anne Hyde....
|
12 July 1663 |
20 June 1667 |
Died in infancy. |
| Anne, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland |
6 February 1665 |
1 August 1714 |
Married Prince George of Denmark in 1683. Successor of her brother-in-law and cousin in 1702. First Queen of Great Britain under the Act of Union of 1707. No surviving issue. |
| Charles, Duke of Kendal Charles Stuart, Duke of Kendal was the third son of James, Duke of York and his first wife Anne Hyde....
|
4 July 1666 |
20 June 1667 |
Died in infancy. |
| Edgar, Duke of Cambridge Edgar, Duke of Cambridge was the fourth son of James, Duke of York and his first wife Anne Hyde....
|
14 September 1667 |
8 June 1671 |
Died in infancy. |
| Henrietta |
13 January 1669 |
15 November 1669 |
Died in infancy. |
| Catherine |
9 February 1671 |
5 December 1671 |
Died in infancy. |
Ancestry
Media portrayals
- In the 2003 mini-series, Charles II: The Power & The Passion, Anne Hyde is portrayed by Tabitha Wady
Tabitha Wady is a British actress, best known for playing Receptionist Katrina Bullen in the BBC television soap opera Doctors and for her role as Gemma in "Kevin & Perry Go Large"....
.
Sources